CRIM 101 Lecture Notes - Travis Hirschi, Social Disorganization Theory, Victimology

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Criminology
• Course: CRIM 101
• Professor: Barry Cartwright

Document Summary

For a crime to occur, there has to be an opportunity, or a victim. Important to understand how victim"s own behaviour and decision making can contribute to shaping of the criminal event. Life-style exposure, opportunity and routine activities theory evolved in the 1970"s, when victimization surveys started to gain popularity. Also a time when crime rates were rising dramatically, and victims were demanding the government take action to protect them. Victimology, opportunity theory, lifestyle exposure theory, lifestyle exposure theory, routine activities theory and rational choice theory are quite similar. All tend to view criminal event in terms of time-space continuum (or environmental backcloth), and examine ways in which offenders and victims intersect in time and space, in the absence of a capable guardian. Introduced in 1978, by hindelang, gottfredson and garofalo. Same gottfredson who co-authored a general theory of crime with travis hirschi.